Serial ATA

An emerging new standard for ATA drive configuration where data is transmitted serially at very high speeds; high enough to potentially result in better performance than the parallel ATA configurations we’ve been used to. A single Serial ATA cable consists of a minimum of four wires, with differential pairs for transmitting and receiving data. The standard also allows for additional ground wires as deemed necessary via a seven-pin connector. Maximum cable length for the S-ATA 1.0 standard is 1 meter, which makes external S-ATA drives possible. S-ATA is also a point-to-point protocol, where each connection supports a single drive, making master/slave settings a thing of the past and simplifying termination.